Pottstown man's combative behavior with police ends with trip to jail

COURTHOSUE — Sending a message that combative behavior against police won’t be tolerated, a Montgomery County judge ordered a Pottstown man to jail for assaulting an officer as police investigated an alleged domestic disturbance at his home.

Erik D. Deger, 27, of the 1300 block of South Street, was sentenced Wednesday to four days in the county jail, to be followed by 3 ˝ years of probation, in connection with a May 2011 incident during which borough Officer Matthew Green was injured.

“The court will not tolerate this behavior and this is what happens when you attack the police,” Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy said as she sternly addressed Deger.

The judge also ordered Deger to complete anger management and psychological counseling programs as conditions of the sentence. Deger also must complete 50 hours of community service.

Deger can serve the jail sentence over the course of two consecutive weekends beginning April 5, the judge said.

Deger appeared apologetic and afterwards exchanged pleasantries with Green, including shaking the officer’s hand.

In January, a jury convicted Deger, who represented himself at trial, of misdemeanor charges of simple assault and resisting arrest in connection with the incident. The judge also convicted Deger of summary charges of disorderly conduct, finding he caused public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm while engaging in fighting or threatening, violent behavior.

Assistant District Attorney Cara McMenamin argued for 30 days in jail against Deger.

“He was just basically raging out of control,” argued McMenamin, recalling the incident. “It took three officers, one of whom was injured, to subdue him. He needs to be taught a lesson, number one. Number two, he needs to learn how to rein himself in because he reacts to stress by acting out and being belligerent and being combative.”

“What the police do, they don’t know what kind of danger they’re going to find themselves in. You cannot behave this way with police. You cannot injure police officers,” added McMenamin.

Green testified the incident could have been resolved in a matter of seconds had Deger simply cooperated and answered the questions of arriving police instead of becoming combative.

“It didn’t have to go this far,” Green said as he addressed Deger in court.

During the two-day trial, Green testified he was the first officer to arrive at Deger’s home at about 5:42 p.m. May 1, 2011, to investigate a neighbor’s 911 call reporting a “physical domestic” incident outside Deger’s home. Green testified Deger was “belligerent and argumentative,” refused to give police his name and blocked Green’s path when he tried to check on the status of a woman who was observed at the residence.

Green testified Deger, who had an odor of alcohol on his breath, became increasingly combative and that when he tried to take Deger into custody for disorderly conduct Deger resisted arrest. Green, who testified it took three officers to control Deger, suffered injuries to his hand and knees during the fight that ensued.

Deger, who occasionally conferred with court-appointed standby counsel Bonnie-Ann Keagy as he questioned witnesses during the trial, implied he was the one who was assaulted by police and he showed the jury photos of scrapes, bruises and cuts he sustained during the fight. Deger argued to the jury that the altercation occurred not at his hands but at the hands of police and that the prosecution’s case consisted of “exaggerations of actions, twisting of truths and false testimony.”

Deger’s neighbor testified for prosecutors that she called 911 after her two daughters frantically alerted her to a man allegedly punching “the daylights” out of a woman, who testimony revealed was Deger’s girlfriend at the time, in the yard next door. The neighbor, whose 911 call was heard by the jury, testified Deger also was uncooperative with arriving police.

However, Deger’s former girlfriend, of Spring City, testified Deger never punched her and she could not explain why a neighbor called 911 to report a domestic disturbance. The woman claimed Deger was not fighting back.

McMenamin argued the testimony of Deger’s former girlfriend was not credible given the neighbor’s account.